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Photo courtesy of the Young Brothers
Brothers Eric, left, and Jason Young are the co-writers of the Kid Rock song "Redneck Paradise," which was inspired by Dunmore's Honky Tonk Restaurant & Saloon.

Eric Young misses the simple pleasures of life in Northeast Pennsylvania, from the clean mountain air to his Friday nights hanging out with friends at the Honky Tonk Restaurant & Saloon.

He loves the Dunmore country-western bar so much he and brother Jason wrote a song inspired by it. They called it "Redneck Paradise."

Thanks to some extremely creative thinking, the Young brothers managed to get the song into the hands of a guy who could maximize its potential - Bob Ritchie, better known to his millions of fans as Kid Rock.

The Detroit rocker recorded "Redneck Paradise" for his newest album, "Rebel Soul," and chances are his local fans will be hearing it when he visits Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain on Saturday, July 6.

The Young brothers will attend the show, as well as a pre-concert party being held at the Honky Tonk beginning at noon.

Kid Rock recently rerecorded "Redneck Paradise" with legendary country singer Hank Williams Jr. They shot a video for the song that will debut Sunday on CMT. Meanwhile, Kid Rock will preview the video when he hosts "CMT's 20 Greatest Redneck Anthems" Saturday at 10 p.m.

The Young brothers share writing credit on "Redneck Paradise" with Kid Rock, who slightly changed the arrangement and some of the lyrics. For instance, a specific reference to the Honky Tonk was changed to the more general "them honky tonks" in the song's bridge.

"We just can't thank him enough. He doesn't know the good he did," said Eric Young, who has yet to meet Kid Rock in person. "It's almost like a Cinderella story."

Honky Tonk owner Tony Lupia said he was completely flattered by the brothers' tribute to the bar.

"It's really cool. It's an honor, actually," he said. "Eric's been a great customer. They're really good guys."

A Philadelphia native, Eric Young moved to the area about 15 years ago to take a job as a truck driver for a local company. He settled in Waymart, and in time became a regular at the Honky Tonk.

In October 2007, he and his brother decided to write a song celebrating the rural, country lifestyle that was inspired by the good times they had at the Honky Tonk.

"We've always done music our whole life as a hobby," Eric Young said. "Writing music was something we always loved. We just never did it professionally."

The song came out so well the brothers decided to send the demo to a famous artist. Given Kid Rock's gradual evolution toward a more country and southern rock sound, he seemed like the obvious choice.

"We figured if he got it, he might be inclined to do it," said Eric Young, 44.

The challenge, of course, was figuring out how to get the song to him without it getting lost in the cracks.

Encouraged by a famous story in which singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson landed a helicopter on the lawn of Johnny Cash's home to give the country legend a demo tape, the Youngs spent $200 building an old-fashioned railroad freight box that they fastened to an oak pallet.

The only thing inside the box was the "Redneck Paradise" demo tape, suspended from guitar strings.

"It was bigger than the Jeep Liberty we put it on the roof of," said Eric Young, who was laid off from his job around this time, forcing him to move back to Philly to find work.

The brothers sent the box via UPS to Kid Rock's management company. Because it would require a pallet jack to move it, they knew Kid Rock's manager would have to sign for it.

While the box made it there, the brothers heard nothing regarding the song. Eventually, they lost hope of anything becoming of it.

Then, out of nowhere, in November 2011, Kid Rock's representatives called to inform them that the singer had decided to record the song.

So far, the Youngs have received a $10,000 royalty advance, which they've mostly put toward starting their own production company. They've formed a three-piece southern rock combo with bassist Gary Gilbert, formerly of the band Kansas, and have attracted the interest of Lynyrd Skynyrd's former manager.

Things are coming along nicely, and Eric Young can't help but give the Honky Tonk and NEPA some of the credit.

"We're immensely proud to be associated with that area," he said.

Contact the writer: jmcauliffe@timesshamrock.com, @jmcauliffeTT on TwitterIf you go

Who: Kid Rock, with Uncle Kracker and Kool and the Gang

Where: Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain

When: Saturday, July 6, 6:45 p.m.

Details: All tickets are $20 (plus fees) and can be purchased at the Toyota Pavilion box office, Ticketmaster.com, all local Ticketmaster outlets or by phone at 800-745-3000.

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